The 4th Ending
by AscendingAnthem
Summary: Based on the fabled 4th Ending for Cave Story. SPOILERS. This summary sucks, but i couldn't think of anything else to put in. More inside...
1. The Sand Zone

_Author's Note: Hello! Here is another Cave Story FanFic for you. Inspired by the '4__th__' best ending in Cave Story. The "4__th__" ending was a great mod designed by HaydenStudios on the Cave Story Tribute Site. Go play it, it really should be the 4__th__ ending._

_Cave Story (Doukutsu Monogatari) is owned by Studio Pixel. The mod is owned by HaydenStudios. All respective rights reserved._

_And yes, I had to change a couple things from the mod, so the writing would make more sense._

_And I am not doing another long Sacred Grounds/Hell level bit in this one. If you want a Sacred Grounds/Hell FanFic, check out my other FanFic, Is This The End?_

_BIG HUGE NOTE: SPOILERS. I am revealing the main protagonists real name, and spoil most of the mod in this FanFic. Don't read unless you have already finished the mod, or have no intention of playing it, or cant finish it_

_Please review if you want. It really helps._

Chapter 1: The Sand Zone

"There's one of us who's a perfect match for this job." stated Professor Booster. Moving past Sue, he stood in front of Quote. "It's you." Silence from the group. Then Kazuma spoke.

"Who IS he?"

"In fact..." started Professor Booster, "This is one of the armed scout robots that were dispatched to this island, 10 years ago"

"A robot?!" shouted Kazuma, surprised.

Quote was also surprised. He was a robot. A small fragment of memory seemed to fit into place right then.

"My impression was that they had been completely wiped out, but I do not know the particulars. It's entirely possible that one of them could have..."

"Professor." interrupted Kazuma. "I've connected to the Sand Zone."

"I see."

Professor Booster walked forward and put a hand on Quote's shoulder.

"You are the most suited to exploring this island" he said, staring straight into Quote's eyes. "Please. Give us your aid"

Quote didn't hesitate for a second. He nodded once and then walked to the teleporter. Entering it, he pushed the Teleport button. Blue light surrounded him as he disappeared. He reappeared a moment later. Exiting the teleporter, he surveyed his surroundings. He noticed nothing unusual at first. But then he saw something ahead of him. Upon closer inspection of the figure, Quote saw someone. He would of walked closer, but he saw a gun strapped to the back of the figure. Another armed scout robot? Quote continued to think about this. But then he realised he would avoid a confrontation. That gun looked stronger than his Polar Star. He looked around again, trying to find a way around.

After moments of careful searching, he saw a rock above him. The rock looked more crumbly than the others around him. Drawing his Polar Star, he shot the rock several times. It held for a brief moment, then collapsed, revealing a tunnel. Jumping into this tunnel, Quote started to navigate it.

Reaching the top, Quote shot two blocks above him and leaped out. He seemed to be above the mysterious robot he saw earlier. Seeing a door about 10 meters in front of him, walked towards it, opened it and entered. He arrived into a room with four Mimiga children. They all looked round, looks of happiness on their faces. When they saw Quote standing there, their expressions turned to ones of horror.

"Oh no!" yelled one of them "It's a killer robot!"

Quote stepped forward onto the sand covering the floor. He regretted stepping forward immediately.

"Remember what Curly said, "Aim for the face!"" yelled another one.

The children picked up rocks off the ground, taking careful aim at Quote's head.

Quote instantly holstered his Polar Star and held his hands up in the general sign of peace. The children still held their aim for a couple seconds and then, slowly, one of them lowered their arm.

"Your not going to hurt us?" said the child who had lowered their arm.

Quote shook his head.

"Your on our side?" asked another child.

Quote nodded.

"Oh, we're so sorry!" apologized one of them. And with that, all the children dropped their stones.

"We've had bad experiences with killer robots in the past, so we had to be careful." Quote understood their caution. He would of done the same thing.

The door opened behind him. Quote turned around, drawing his Polar Star and pointing it at the figure walking through. It was the mysterious figure he saw earlier. Silence... Quote then realised how the situation looked from the figure's point of view. Before he could say or do anything is his defence, the figure spoke.

"Are you kids okay?"

"Yes Curly, we're fine!" said 2 or 3 of them at once.

"Well, then!" Curly continued. "It looks like we have a VISITOR! I know what it is your looking for! But wake up! Mimigas aren't your enemies! Mimigas are harmless!"

"Wait Curly!" said one of the children behind Quote. "He isn't going to hurt us!"

"You sure have got that right!" said Curly triumphantly, misinterpreting what the children had said.

"Too bad for you, but..." Curly took the gun off her back and pointed it at Quote, who tensed, ready to defend himself.

"I'm on there side!" she finished

"Yes! So is he!" the children said together.

"Oh!" exclaimed Curly, putting her gun back on her back. Walking towards Quote, she said, "Your with the Mimigas too?

Quote nodded.

"That's right, there's nothing bad about them!" continued Curly. "I'm Curly. Curly Brace."

Curly Brace... That's sounds familiar, thought Quote.

Curly continued, "When I woke up, I was with these children. I don't have any memories before that... Amnesia, you might say. I was... probably a Mimiga-butcher just like the other robots..." Curly finished sadly.

I was right!, Quote thought. She was another armed scout robot. But... Amnesia... Waking up in strange places... The same thing that had happened to him... Coincidence? thought Quote.

"Oh, wow" said Curly again, noticing my weapon. "That Polar Star of yours is in awful shape. Do you want to trade it for my machine gun?"

Quote thought about it. But in the end, he shook his head. He wanted to keep with the Polar Star. He wanted to give it back to that old guy he stole it from.

"Really?" said Curly, a little curiously. "Well, if you ever change your mind, I'll be here."

Quote nodded again, and was just about to leave when he thought of something. Turning back around, he said. "I'm looking for red flowers here in the Sand Zone. Do you know where to find some?" Another silence. Quote was about to leave again, when one of the children spoke up.

"Your looking for red flowers?"

Quote turned and looked expectantly at the child.

"There's an old woman named Jenka who might know about that. If you go to see her, you ought to bring along next to the bed."

Quote was slightly puzzled, but went and picked up the puppy. Quote then walked back outside, back into the Sand Zone. Quote realized some sort of spell had been placed on the Sunstones. After breaking the spell, he found Jenka's house and entered.

An old woman looked up with interest as he entered. This might be Jenka, Quote thought. Lifting the puppy from his back, he gave it to Jenka.

"Oh, my!" she exclaims. "My precious puppy! You brought him back I take it? Many thanks."

Quote cleared his throat. "I heard that you know where to find red flowers"

Jenka's expression turned stern. "Red flowers?"

"Huzzah!"

Balrog appeared out of nowhere (as he always does), blocking the door. Quote drew his Polar Star and Jenka's puppy started barking.

"How's it going, Jenka?" he said gleefully

"Ah, Balrog." Jenka said, calming her puppy down at the same time. "You're doing well, I see.

And how is my halfwit of a daughter fairing?"

"Hee-hee-hee! Halfwit? You mean Misery?"

Misery?, Quote thought. That evil witch, Jenka's daughter?

Balrog continued. "She's fine, just fine. A new master has appeared. This time, the earth will be ours!"

"So once again you two plot to..."

"I'm not here to give you any trouble. I just came to collect the key to the storehouse. The one where the flower seeds are kept!"

Jenka stayed silent. Quote noticed that her hand drifted ever so slightly to her right pocket.

"My..." Jenka started. Then she got a hold of herself. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Hoho!" Balrog shouted out gleefully. "Playing the fool, are you?! I see how it is. So you've chosen to betray us. You'll regret it."

And with that, Balrog launched into the air and out of sight.

"A new master... That good-for-nothing."

She was going to continue, but then she saw Quote, and hastily stopped.

"There are actually four others. Four more puppies of mine..."

Quote knew what was coming.

"And my hips are so weak."

He should of guessed it might come this.

"Could this old woman trouble you to find her other puppies for her?"

Nailed it, thought Quote glumly. However, Jenka seemed to know more than she let on.

Quote nodded slowly, but in his mind he was thinking, Would she share some information with me if I got her puppies back?

Quote left and searched for her puppies. He found them all, one in a treasure chest of all places, another one who found it fun to hide in dark places, one of them who ran faster than he did, and the final one sleeping at the other end of the Sand Zone. He could only take one at a time, but he was rewarded for his troubles. Jenka started telling him a story about the last time robots had come this island and what had happened. Quote listened intently to her story. He about to open the door with the last puppy he had found sleeping, when he heard a crash from inside. Rushing in, he saw Balrog holding a key as Jenka quailed on the floor at his feet.

"The storehouse key? Why, THANK you, you shouldn't have! Catch you later!"

"Wait!" yelled Jenka

Too late. Balrog had already disappeared. Quote started to walk forward to help Jenka up, but the puppy above his head jumped off his head, and ran out the door. Quote followed the puppy. He found the puppy down near the start of the long passage to the end of the Sand Zone. The puppy pointed back to where Quote has first found it. Strange... Quote thought. Quote lifted the puppy onto his back and set off again.

Arriving at the other end, he saw the locked door that he saw earlier. It was open. The storehouse!, Quote thought. The puppy once again jumped off his head and ran to the door. After a few moments, he followed.

A few minutes ago, inside the Storehouse...

Misery and the Doctor were at one end of the storehouse, gazing at the red flowers.

"My lord" started Misery "I have brought all the seeds as you requested."

"Well done." replied the Doctor, feeling a little proud of his servant. "By the by... the flowers that bloom there."

Misery turned and looked at the flowers in the middle of the storehouse.

"Are those the demon flowers?"

"Indeed"

"My, my... The're more uncanny than even I had imagined..."

"My lord... Shall\I consume one as a test?"

A pause then the Doctor replied.

"No, let us not do that. Hmmmm... Instead, let us test the reaction on a Mimiga."

"Yes, my lord"

With that, Misery used her magic to summon Toroko.

Toroko landed on the ground.

"When am...?" started Toroko. When she saw Misery, she bolted for the exit.

"Waah!" she cried as she ran.

Balrog appeared out of nowhere, and blocked her from getting out.

"Oh-oh" he said gleefully. "Where do you think your going?"

"Balrog. Feed this one a flower."

"You got it"

Balrog grabbed Toroko and tried to force feed her the flower.

"No! Stop!" Toroko cried out.

"Eat it. EAT I-"

Arf! Arf! A dog's was heard.

"Huh?"

Jenka's puppy appeared and started barking at Balrog.

"Hey, isn't that one of Jenka's puppies?" said Balrog curiosly.

"Yes, that is indeed one of my mothers pets." said Misery dryly.

"Is that so?" said the Doctor interestingly. "Well then, why don't you, Misery, have the honour of ridding us of it?

"Yes, my lord"

Misery was about to cast a spell at the puppy when...

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" A shout echoed through the storehouse.

King appeared. Blade in hand, he rushed towards Balrog and struck him. Balrog fled immediately. Kneeling down beside Toroko, King began to speak.

"Toroko! Are you okay?!"

"King? Yeah, I think so" replied Toroko.

King let out a deep sigh of relief. "Thank goodness your alright."

Then he faced the Doctor. "YOU! You're that Doctor"

"Why yes. I am the Doctor."

Quote entered the storehouse. The Doctor saw him first.

"Oho! Your that solider from the surface! It appeared we have some inconvenient timing. Misery! Deal with them!"

He disappeared.

"Hmmmm..." thought Misery out loud. Then...

"Ah! I know just what to do with you two!"

King stepped forward in front of Toroko, striking an offensive pose.

"You will not touch her!"

"Silence" screeched Misery and she teleported Toroko and King somewhere in a flash of lightning.

Quote stepped forward.

"And as for you!"

The same lightning appeared above Quote. His attuned reflexes dodged 4 bolts of lightning that Misery summoned.

Misery looked a little surprised when she saw Quote still standing there.

"You remind me of the one back then. A tough little robot just like you... I can see confronting you directly just makes things complicated."

Tough little robot... Quote thought. Curly?

"Huzzah!"

Balrog appeared. This time he was positioned above Quote. Quote looked up just before Balrog landed on him.

"Sorry! Hee-hee-hee."

Misery looked stunned. Then she began to comprehend what she just saw.

"Ah, well. Seeing that you are subdued... To the Labyrinth with you." And she teleported Quote to the Labyrinth.

"So!" yelled Balrog. "What will we do about Jenka's puppy?"

Misery thought for a second then said, "See to it that she makes it safely back to my mother's house."

"Oho! Helping someone who opposes the Doctor?"

"Very well, I'll do it myself."

"The Doctor sure wouldn't be too happy if he knew what you're doing!" Balrog teased

"You are not to tell him of this."

"Why shouldn't I?"

"So be it. Join the robot"

Balrog realised he had gone too far in his teasing. "...Uh?"

And with those words, he too was sent to the Labyrinth.

"Ho-ho-ho" laughed Misery. "Heavens, that felt good.

_Authors Note: Chapter One has ended! But you don't have to wait long for the next one! So, review if you want to._


	2. An Easier Way Out

_Authors Note: Hello once again! First off... Thank you. I am getting heaps of views on all of my stories. Thanks to all who looked at my FanFic's. However, I seem to be getting not a lot of reviews... I would like some feedback on my stories via a review or PM... _

_So this chapter begins where we left off... Misery teleporting Quote to the Labyrinth. Once again, this is a mod by HaydenStudios from the Cave Story Tribute Site. Go play it, it's REALLY good. And also, I had to change some things about the mod. Enjoy!_

Chapter 2: An Easier Way Out...

In the Labyrinth...

Quote landed on hard ground. Standing up, he saw very tall room. So tall, that he couldn't see the top. A robot came over to look at him.

"I bet Misery tossed you down here. You poor thing... This is the island's trash heap. Once you get in, you never get out..."

"But there's a door!" Quote said, stating the obvious.

"It won't open, and it's too hard to break." said another robot. "The switch that opens this door is supposed to be up top somewhere. But the footing-"

Before he could say another word, Quote ran and jumped onto the nearest ledge. He was determined to reach the top.

He reached the top and flipped the switch. Below him, he heard something creaking open. The door!, he thought. In his elation he jumped off the side. He wanted to get down as fast as possible. But then he realised that he would die. He wouldn't survive the jump. How could I be so stupid?, he berated himself. But he landed on the ground and he didn't seem to be injured. It's must be because I'm a robot or something, thought Quote as he stepped through the door.

Stepping over the remains of another robot, Quote carried on, passing a shop and moving towards a clinic nearby. Entering he saw nothing of interest at first. But then he saw a figure on one of the beds...

"Curly!"

She was sitting up and alert. She turned round and smiled when she saw who it was.

"Oh, hey! Haven't seen YOU in a while. You're looking good!"

Quote smiled at the complement.

"That witch tossed you down here too, eh?" Curly continued. "Same as me!" Then her bright expression dropped, and Quote had to resist hugging her to comfort her. "So you weren't able to beat them after all... I'd actually had my hopes for you, but..." She trailed off. "And me, I tried. Oh, I tried. And just look where it got me. And all for nothing. In the end, I couldn't save any of those children." Quote thought he saw a tear glistening on her cheek, but when he blinked, it was gone...

"And it will be a while before repairs on me are complete." finished Curly.

Quote wanted to help, he really did. But he knew nothing about the interior of a robot. Someone tapped him on the shoulder. Quote turned around to see a small, green creature, wearing a white lab coat.

"I've seen that look in peoples' eyes before... You want to help her?"

Quote nodded.

"Well, there's an old clinic near here. Go and see if there isn't any medicine left in there. There might be something there that could help her" said the creature, passing Quote a key.

Quote took it and ran outside. He made his way up to the clinic and opened the door. It was deserted and a fine layer of regret smothered everything in sight. Quote looked around. He saw a chest nearby, walked over to it and opened it. It was almost empty, apart from the fact there was a small bottle at the bottom of the chest. Taking it, he examined the label. 'Cure-All' it said. Sounds promising, thought Quote, as he pocketed it. The bottle rattled quietly. It seemed to only have a single pill in there. Before he could check however, something dropped from the ceiling in front of him.

Balrog? thought Quote. It most certainly had the shape of Balrog. But Balrog didn't have red eyes like slits, nor was his colouring grey-black, and bubbles didn't surround Balrog like what was happening to this newcomer. Definitely not Balrog. This was new.

After defeating the new creature (which had faded out of existence in a swarm of bubbles), Quote returned to the clinic. Curly wasn't there. Confused, Quote walked towards the nurse beside the bed which Curly had been on.

"Oh, did you come to check up on that girl? She went off towards the "Boulder Chamber"."

Quote wondered if he should give the Cure-All to the doctor, but he thought against it. He might need to heal himself or others in the coming battles. Exiting the clinic, Quote ran along another passage, avoiding falling blocks threatening to crush him, and emerged into another long passage. Quote's eye was drawn to a massive contraption near the start of the passage. It seemed to be deactivated. Quote continued towards the end of the passage, when a barrier formed in front of him, and sounds of something moving came from behind him.

The contraption was moving towards him. Quote had had enough. "Lets get this over with" he sighed, raising his Polar Star. The contraption didn't go down without a fight. But Quote still prevailed and continued, the machine, a burning wreak behind him. Quote walked through the door at the end of the passage.

Instantly, he heard a noise. Familiar... sounds like Misery teleporting something, thought Quote. And then he saw Professor Booster falling from the sky in front of him. Jumping down, Quote saw Professor Booster lying on the ground, not dead, but not going to be alive for very much longer.

"Oohhh..." Professor Booster groaned. Then he realised who was above him. "Oh! What are you doing here?!"

Quote explained what had happened.

"Really, so Misery sent you here too..." He chuckled. "Maybe there's a silver lining after all... You see, this island floats in the sky by the power of a certain organism, and I've recently discovered its location. This labyrinth. The organism lives somewhere within this very labyrinth. If one could destroy it, the island would cease to function." Professor Booster chuckled again. "The Doctor must really be in a rush, to send you into the very heart of this island. Take this with you."

Professor Booster handed some sort of device. Etched on the side was the name 'Booster v0.8'

"This little machine will help you fly. Phew... The minute I was sent flying, I thought it was all over. And yet it enabled me to meet you once again... It looks like my luck has run out here." Professor Booster fell to the ground, slowly living out his last moments. Quote just stood there, watching. But then he felt the Cure-All bottle in his pocket. He withdrew the bottle and took off the lid. One small pill lay there. He took it out and offered it to Professor Booster. He held up his hand.

"I appreciate your care, but now, I have no chance of survival..." Then he realised what he was looking at. "Why, do my eyes deceive me? Or is that a Cure-All? How in the world did you come by one of those? Perhaps I may yet live." He grabs the pill from Quote's hand and swallows it. Nothing happened for a bit, then...

Professor Booster leapes to his feet, throwing away the broken pair of glasses and slipping on some new ones from his pocket.

"Great heavens, I feel so much better. A most sincere thank you. I am ever in your debt."

Quote smiled.

"If you don't mind, however, I would like to have that Booster back."

Quote handed over the booster without complaint.

"Now then, let us find a way out of this maze." Noticing a teleporter below him, Professor Booster went down and started to repair it.

Quote then saw something wrong with this. Though he had saved Professor Booster, and he was fixing the teleporter below Quote, Quote noticed that there was no way out. He wanted to tell Curly about an easier path out of the Labyrinth. But there was no way out, except... up! Jumping down. He tapped Professor Booster on the back.

"I believe I may be able to repair this teleporter; however, doing so will take some time, so please be patient" said Professor Booster, not looking round. He had completely interrupted what Quote was going to say. Quote cleared his throat and was about to speak, but Professor Booster cut him off again.

"I'm sorry that I'm not done yet, but you'll need to be patient." said Professor Booster, still not looking at Quote.

Quote was getting a little annoyed, but cleared his throat again and spoke, before Professor Booster could interupt again.

"A friend of mine was also teleported down here too, and I need your Booster to get back up and find her."

Professor Booster turned around to face Quote this time. "A friend of yours was tossed down here too? Very well, you may borrow my Booster to get up there, but please return it when you've got your friend." He passed the Booster back, and continued work on the teleporter. Quote used the Booster to get back up, and open the door to the Boulder Chamber.

Curly was standing there, next to the huge boulder. Quote sighed in relief. He was glad that they didn't have to shift THAT.

"Hey, Curly!" said Quote. "I found a faster way out of the Labyrinth! It's just below, outside the door."

"All right! Now we don't have to move the boulder to get out!" said Curly. With that, she sprinted to the door, knocking Quote aside. "C'mon!" she said as she neared the door. Before she opened it, she looked back. She laughed. "C'mon! What are you waiting for? She opened the door and left. Quote followed.

When he got back down to teleporter, Professor Booster was still repairing the teleporter. Curly was standing back from Professor Booster. Quote was about to ask how the teleporter was going, but then Professor Booster turned around.

"Your friend seems rather untrusting at the moment. Perhaps it would be best if you talked to her first." Professor Booster turned back round and continued repairs.

A little confused, Quote walked toward Curly. Curly grabbed him, and dragged him aside, out of earshot of Professor Booster.

"You didn't tell me it was a human helping us" she hissed. Then in a more softer voice she continued, "Can we trust him?"

"Ahem"

Both of them jumped and looked around. Professor Booster was looking at Curly. It seemed that Professor Booster had better ears than Curly thought.

"Indeed, humans are responsible for the countless Mimigas slaughtered ten years ago, but I assure you that some among us are their allies, and even attempted to protect them during the massacre." Professor Booster walked up to Curly. "Please, accept us as your ally, and the Doctor may be stopped."

Curly glanced at Quote. "Well..." said she started, hesitant. "If it was possible for him to be a good guy... Then I guess it's possible that your on my side too!"

"That's the spirit. Now that we have that settled, let us get acquainted. You may call me Professor Booster." He held out his hand, and Curly took it.

"My name's Curly Brace" said Curly. "Curly for short. And it's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine. Now, time is of the essence. We'll regroup at the Mimiga village, and further discuss our plans on stopping the Doctor."

Professor Booster walked back to the teleporter. After a few moments, the teleporter became active.

"Alright, I've connected to Arthur's house. Ladies first?" Professor Booster gestured at Curly. Quote thought he saw some disbelief in Curly's eyes.

"You're such a gentleman. But... Not that I think your a bad guy, but maybe he..." Curly glanced at Quote again, and Quote definitely saw the disbelief in her eyes. She also seemed to be blushing. Was she embarrassed?

"...he should go first, since he trusts you." finished Curly.

"Very well then." said Professor Booster, looking at Quote. "You may go first."

Without hesitation, Quote got into the teleporter and teleported back to Arthur's House. It was empty, but nothing had changed since he had left for the Sand Zone. The teleporter became active again, and Professor Booster appeared.

"Curly insisted that I go first... I still see some mistrust in her. I believe that she's coming around, however." Professor Booster looked hopefully at the teleporter for several seconds, then looked back at Quote. "Only us, I see... After you left for the Sand Zone, we hurried to secure a means of escape... Before we had the chance, however, Misery showed up. She took off with Sue, and tossed me into the Labyrinth upon her prompt return. From what I could tell, Kazuma manged to get away. I haven't seen him since."

A long pause.

"You head outside and make sure the other Mimigas are all right. I'll stay here and welcome Curly in when she arrives."

Quote nodded and walked to the door.

"Wait!" yelled Professor Booster.

Quote stopped, and turned around. Professor Booster walked towards him. "Forgive me, I nearly forgot. If you don't mind, I'd like to have my Booster back."

Quote gave it back without complaint.

"Thank you. Now, proceed, and I will await Curly's arrival."

Quote left. It was quiet. Too quiet... Looking around the Mimiga Village, Quote realised that their was no one there. He checked everywhere; the Assembly Hall, the Reservoir, the Shack... nothing...

Then Quote went up the Yamashita Farm, and found a Mimiga over looking the farm. Quote went up to where he was sitting, and told him about the kidnapped Mimiga's.

"What!?" he said. "What do you mean the rest of the Mimigas here have been kidnapped?"

It looked like he was going to ask more questions, but before he could, a familiar teleporting sound was heard behind Quote. He turned, and saw none other than Misery.

"Ah! It appears some Mimigas still remain!" she shouted.

The farm Mimiga gasped. "You're one of the Doctor's servants, aren't you?!"

Footsteps was heard from below. Curly appeared, and looked at Quote. "Hey, I got here as soon as I cou-." Her voice trailed off as she saw Misery. "You! You're that witch who tossed me into the Labyrinth! Those children had better be safe!"

"Ha! Be silent!" yelled Misery. "Your no mother!" She turned towards the farming Mimiga.

"And you, Mimiga. It appears you have experience with gardening here. Perhaps you will enjoy life at the Plantation." Misery cast a spell, and the farming Mimiga was gone.

Then she looked up at Quote. "It seems we are facing with this same dilemma yet again... I see, I will need to confront you... Our time for combat will come, but now is not that time. Until then..." and she disappeared.

Curly screamed in outrage. "Get back here this instant you coward! I'm not finished with you! Why I oughta!" Then she calmed down a little. She turned towards Quote. "We should report back to Professor Booster."

They both walked back to Arthur's House together. They didn't speak on the way back. Quote wanted to start a conversation with Curly, but before he could form the words in his mouth, they were at Arthur's House. They entered, and saw Professor Booster. Curly walked forward and explained what had happened. A long silence followed the end of her explanation...

"So, the Doctor has gained a foothold on the Mimigas in our absence..." said Professor Booster, pacing. "We must locate where these Mimigas are being taken. Did Misery mention any hints as to where she might have tossed them?"

"Hmm" thought Curly out loud. "Let's see. Well, she said something about a plantation before she took the last Mimiga."

"Of course! The Plantation! The Doctor must be cultivating red flowers. That's where we'll find Sue and the other Mimigas."

Professor Booster walked over to the computer near the teleporter. "I'll connect to the Plantation so that we may rescue Sue." He looked at the monitor. Then he turned back to Curly and Quote.

"There is a message by Kazuma, telling us to head to the Egg Corridor. Did you see that message when you came in?"

Quote shook his head.

"What about you Curly?" continued Professor Booster.

"No, I didn't"

"Very well. I wish we were aware of that earlier, but there's no changing the past. Now then, I have connected to the Plantation." He pointed at Quote. "You teleport there and free Sue, as well as stop the Doctor." He then looked at Curly. "Curly, secure a path for me through the Egg Corridor so that we may rendezvous with Kazuma, and prepare a means of escape."

"That sounds good!" said Curly, excited. "Just one question though..."

"Hm?"

"Who are Sue and Kazuma?"

Even though Quote had seen and met both of them, he listened in, hoping gain some information.

"They are two youth siblings who accompanied their mother along with some other researchers, myself included, to explore this island."

"Ok... Also, who is this "Doctor" that you guys keep talking about?"

"The Doctor was among our group. His self-proclaimed purpose was to accommodate all of our medical needs throughout our time of exploration. This, however, proved false; shortly following our arrival, the Doctor seized the Demon Crown."

"And what's... that?"

"The Demon Crown is a piece of headgear which grants its wearer near god-like powers. From what I can tell, two magically-bound servants come with the package. The Doctor has been taking Mimigas for several months, and plans to unleash an army of their enraged counterparts onto the surface."

"That's... terrible."

"Precisely. That's why he must be stopped. Any more questions?"

"No, I think that's it."

"Splendid. Then let us proceed. But perhaps your masculine friend should go first, since his task is of higher priority."

"Yes, I agree."

Quote headed towards the teleporter and entered it. With one final, fleeting glance at Curly, he disappeared.

Meanwhile, somewhere on the island...

The Doctor appeared out of nowhere. Barely a second later, Misery appeared right next to him.

"My lord" began Misery. Why have you brought us to the core?"

The Doctor chuckled. "I have use of it. Bring it to the laboratory, and I'll explain there."

"Yes, my lord."

The Doctor disappeared. Misery looked at the core and teleported it away. Then, for good measure, she destroyed the 4 smaller beings around the core. Then she disappeared, leaving a empty, barren room in her wake.

At the Plantation teleporter room...

Quote appeared. The smell of damp earth reached his nostrils. He opened a door ahead of him, and stepped out into the new world. Water... Lots and lots of water, appeared before him. When he took a step forward, a fish blew some sort of bubble at him. Quote highly doubted that these bubbles were harmless. Managing to cross the massive pool of water, he climbed up, and looked around. Quote saw massive plots of land, all growing red flowers. Mimiga's were tending to the flowers, helping them grow. Quote was a little angry with the Mimiga's. Didn't they know what they were doing? He tried to talk to the Mimiga's, but most of them didn't speak to him. One of them muttered something about 'not allowed to talk to humans'.

Bypassing all the Mimiga's, Quote located the jail cell, where he hoped Sue would be. As he entered, he saw that he was correct. Sue was there. But also in the cell was King, Toroko, Jack and the fat Mimiga who was always eating. Quote approached the bars. King seemed to have heard something.

"Huh?" he said, and turned around. Then he caught sight of Quote. "Hey! You've come to help us out!"

Sue, Toroko and Jack all turned around as well.

"You're here!"yelled Sue in surprise. "Oh, I knew you'd come!"

"We're saved!" squeaked Toroko.

"You're here!" said Jack. "I don't believe it!"

"Alright everyone, calm down" spoke King over all of the babble. "These bars are pretty strong, so you'll have a hard time breaking them with what you've got."

Quote shot the bars with his Polar Star. The bars made a nice, clear, crystalline sound, but nothing seemed to happen to the bars.

"The only thing I know of that could cut through these bars is my sword. But I lost it when Misery zapped Toroko and I out of the Sand Zone. If you bring it to me, then I can get us out of here."

Quote knew what he had to do. Returning to the teleporter, he teleported back to Arthur's House, then set the next destination for the Sand Zone. Arriving at the Sand Zone, he proceeded back to the storehouse, where he saw the Blade, floating in mid-air. Quote walked up to it, and after a moments hesitation, he took it.

On the way back from the teleporter, Quote tried out King's Blade. Odd... It never seemed to get any stronger... Quote teleported back to Arthur's House, back to the Labyrinth, and hurried back to the jail cell. King was waiting for him.

"Excellent work" said King, noticing the Blade that Quote held in his hand. "Slip that through the bars will you?"

Quote slipped the Blade through the bars. "I'd stand back if I were you..." said King. Quote retreated a few meters. King slashed the bars with his sword a few times. The bars clattered to the floor.

"We're free!" said Toroko.

"Now, to stop the Doctor, and how..." said King, planting the sword into the ground at his feet.

"I think I know someone who can help" started Sue, she headed towards the door.

_Authors Note: And so en__ds Chapter 2. Phew, that took a while! I've been held up because of other things, but I'm glad I can start writing again. And a quick FYI, I do know all of the name__s__ of the __side__ Mimiga's (the fat one: Mahin; the farming one: __Sandaime; __etc). However, I decided not to say their names, as Quote never learned those name throughout the course of Cave Story. Hope that clears some confusion__s__. Ok, be sure to review, and check out my other stories. Stay tuned for next chapter!_


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